Imperium
by Midget Jedi
Summary: UPDATED! THE AFTERMATH OF SAM'S THEFT OF THE PROMETHEUS. What if there is more to life than being the ‘good guy’ all the time? With the aid of some startlingly powerful new Goa’uld technology, Sam begins to explore her dark side.
1. Invenio

"**IMPERIUM"**

**Summary**

What if there is more to life than being the 'good guy' all the time? With the aid of some startlingly powerful new Goa'uld technology, Sam begins to explore her dark side…

It is said that absolute power corrupts absolutely – but who would have thought that Samantha Carter, stalwart of the SGC, could be the one with the power – and the one to be corrupted? Long story short: Sam gets nasty!

**Genre**

Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, some Humour (though it will probably be amusing for reasons I _didn't_ intend).

**Pairings**

Possible Sam/Jack in later chapters… no, I just got an idea, make that definite but elegant and subtle Sam/Jack at a later stage.

**Spoilers**

This is set in Season Eight, so pretty much everything up till then. This chapter contains specific references to the episodes "Gemini" and "It's Good To Be King", which this story immediately follows.

**Rating**

PG-13 for some course language and violence.

**Disclaimer**

Anything you recognize isn't mine, plain and simple. Believe me, if I owned _any_ of the rights to _Stargate: SG-1_, it would be a radically different show. Like, flamingoes running the base kind of radically different. But that's another story.

**Reviews**

Absolutely welcome. : -D

**

* * *

"You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."**

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

* * *

**Part One **

**ACTION**

Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter awoke with a start. Forcing her tightly wound muscles to relax, she exhaled slowly, allowing her dream-addled brain to remember it was safe, sane, and in the SGC. Groaning slightly in frustration, she glanced over at the glowing green diode of her alarm clock. 0545 hours. She groggily recalled that she had a briefing at 0900 hours, so she would have time to kill until then, but it was probably too early for breakfast…

Her thought train was interrupted by a loud growl from the region of her stomach.

"Close enough," Sam murmured, then hefted her body from the bed and began methodically dressing in her BDU's.

It was a little after 0600 hours by the time she made it to the commissary and had sat down to a plate of rather soggy looking French Toast and a steaming mug of de-caf. She idly began slicing her toast into smaller and smaller squares, still thinking about the nightmare that had roused her from sleep this morning, like so many others had done in the past few weeks.

"Why can't I sleep?" she mused out loud.

"Possibly," answered a kind voice from behind her, "Because you know Maybourne's elevated himself to the status of intergalactic ruler?"

Sam scoffed slightly as Brigadier General Jack O'Neill planted himself in the plastic seat beside her.

"Possibly," she answered. "I'm still trying to work that one out myself, sir."

The General offered her a wide grin as he bit down doggishly on a muffin, spraying crums everywhere. Sam had the vague notion that no amount of metal on his shoulders could ever make Jack O'Neill apply to 'decorum' side of being a high up in the military.

"Showa cayew shep?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Sam asked, staring slightly. "You haven't been playing with Ancient technology again lately, have you, sir?"

Jack rolled his eyes, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"I _said_, 'so why can't you sleep?'"

"Oh," Sam replied. "It's nothing to worry about. I appreciate your concern, but it's unimportant."

Jack fixed her with a stern look. "Carter, while I am concerned as a friend, I have to ask you this as your commanding officer. I can't have the leader of my flagship team making vital survival decisions when she's tired. Especially if it's something within my power to fix."

Sam sighed and started at her toast. Perhaps the sugar and cinnamon granules would suddenly rearrange themselves and spell out a convincing (if rather dishonest) answer. Stranger things had happened at this base.

After about a minute, however, she concluded that it probably wasn't going to happen. Not today, at least.

"Sam?" asked Jack, a slightly acerbic edge coming into his voice.

"It's just…" she trailed off, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Just what?" he asked. He watched his former team mate, and wondered if it was the light that was making her look so drawn, and it suddenly dawned on him that she hadn't been sleeping in ages. Not since…

"Listen," he began, softening his voice, "Is this about that thing that happened with the Replicator version of you? Because she isn't you, you know. In the same way that someone with an evil twin isn't necessarily evil themselves."

Jack regretted his words the instant he said 'evil twin' as he watched the colour drain from Sam's face.

"N…no," she replied composedly, despite the sheer whiteness of her complexion. "I'm over that, it wasn't my fault. I… Pete and I, well, we've been having some arguments lately."

"Really?" Jack asked, perhaps a little to quickly, as he tried to convince himself that the warm feeling spreading in his stomach was relief that she wasn't dwelling on the Repli-Carter thing.

"Yes," she said sternly. "I beg your pardon, sir, but I don't think that falls into your jurisdiction as my commanding officer. I'll see you at the briefing, sir."

She stood up abruptly, leaving Jack sitting alone and rather bewildered at the table. As she walked away, she cringed slightly, knowing her words had hurt him. After all, he had been only trying to help. It wasn't his fault that they had shared a lifetime of experience travelling across the galaxy, learning each other's emotion and thought patterns. It just unnerved her a little that he had hit the nail so damn squarely on the head without any discussion whatsoever.

_Is it that obvious?_ she wondered. Sighing, she placed her tray and plate on the rack for cleaning and left the commissary for her lab.

* * *

A few hours later, she lifted her head at a knock to find a shaggy looking Daniel standing at her lab door.

"You coming to the briefing, Sam?" he smiled.

"That's now?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Well, in five minutes, if you want to be exact."

Sam stared at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Er… of course you want to be exact…" he corrected, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"I'm coming, hold on," she waved him out of her office, grabbing a file before following him out the door.

As they walked along the corridors towards the briefing room, they joined up with Teal'c, entering the room in unison to find the General already there, lounging somewhat casually in his chair.

Jack stood up, feeling a slight pang as he watched SG-1 enter the room, all together, a _team_… without him. He didn't like to admit it, but there was always a part of him that hoped they'd get into trouble on the other side of the gate. Not serious, mind you, but just enough that he would have to come and rescue them, play the knight in shining armour. Of course, Carter's command was far too good for that to happen, but he wasn't above the occasional hope.

It then occurred to him that his team was still standing, waiting for him to sit down. Snapping out of his reverie, he plonked down in the chair and began the briefing.

"Carter," he said gruffly, "What have you got for us?"

"Well, sir, we sent the MALP to what appeared to be a former Goa'uld homeworld. However, the probe indicates that someone… or something wiped them all out. Perhaps over a decade ago, by the looks of the decay on the bodies."

She flicked a button on the remote, and a MALP image came up showing the bodies of two dead Jaffa sprawled near the gate, the skeletons of their symbiotes sticking out grotesquely from beneath their ribs.

"Now, as you would imagine, something that could wipe out an entire Goa'uld homeworld could be of a great advantage to us in our war."

"You think?" Jack said drily.

SG-1 exchanged looks. Shrugging, he waved Sam on.

"Thank you, sir," she said pointedly. "I propose that you send us on a reconnaissance mission to see if we can acquire this weapon. Daniel has already begun translating the writing on these pieces of stonework," she continued, pressing another button to bring up the image of a classically styled Goa'uld temple, with writing all over great gold pillars lining a long hall.

"Yes, yes, I have," Daniel began excitedly. "From the way the symbols progress, it seems like they kept a very good record of happenings on the planet, and I'm hoping they managed to record what happened."

"Before it killed them all?" Jack said dubiously.

"Well… yes," Daniel said, readjusting his glasses. "I mean, I know writing down what is causing your death _as_ your dying probably seems a little weird…"

"You thi…" began Jack.

"_But_," interrupted Daniel, "The Goa'uld are a little weird, I guess. I mean, well…"

He trailed off, shooting a sidelong look at Teal'c, who as always was sitting perfectly straight and immobile, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I believe Daniel Jackson and Colonel Carter are correct in their wish to visit this world. I believe it may possess technology of great benefit to the Tau'ri."

"Are you sure it's safe? I mean… if this thing was a viral pathogen, you know, couldn't it have lain dormant for years? And maybe it doesn't just kill those with an active symbiote… what if it can target the remains of the symbiote in you and Colonel Carter, like… symbiote residue? I mean, it could still affect you. More than that, it doesn't appear to discriminate between Goa'uld and Jaffa. Maybe it doesn't even discriminate between humans and Goa'uld."

A long silence followed this pronouncement.

"What?" snapped Jack eventually, widening his eyes.

"You said… 'viral pathogen'," Sam spoke up eventually, but very quietly. "Uh, I guess I didn't think of that angle, sir. However, the MALP scan ran checks for… pathogens… in the atmosphere. It appears clean. However, if you like, we could wear gas masks until we can completely discount the presence of a… pathogen."

"Okay," the General relented, rubbing a hand over his chin. "You win, Carter. SG-1, you have a go."

The team rose with their commander, and began to file out of the room. Carter lagged behind, picking up her files.

"'SG-1, you have a go," Jack was repeating softly under his breath.

"Sir?" she asked.

He turned on her with a big grin, their altercation that morning seemingly forgotten. "That has to be the best part of being General… I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying that. Snappy line, don't you think?"

"Er…" Sam began uncertainly. "Yes, sir. Very… snappy. Um…but I best go prepare for the mission, respectfully, sir."

"Ah, right, of course," Jack nodded. He dropped his voice and added an authoritative air. "Colonel Samantha Carter, you have a go."

"Yes, sir," she answered, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips, which she quickly hid as she left the room.

* * *

As the wormhole shut behind them, Sam walked slowly down the ramp leading up to the Stargate, her P-90 cautiously raised. Her breathing sounded very loud and raspy through the gas mask.

"Hello?" called Daniel.

"Daniel…" muttered Sam.

"What? There could be survivors."

"Daniel, Goa'uld homeworld, remember?"

"Ah… right…" the young archaeologist said sheepishly. "Can we take these masks off?" he asked, tugging at it. He strongly reminded Sam of a young child trying to remove a troublesome bonnet.

"Sorry, Daniel, but the General says we should keep them on until we can fully ascertain the nature of this weapon."

"Colonel Carter," called Teal'c suddenly. "I believe you should have a look at this."

Sam walked over to the tall Jaffa, who was standing in front of a large, ornate obsidian case full of Goa'uld technology.

"Ribbon devices… healing devices…some things I don't even recognise…"

She extracted a small ring-device from the cupboard and held it up to eye level.

"This was the type of device the Ashrak used to torture Jolinar and I," she remarked flatly.

"O…kay," Daniel said, gently removing it from her fingers and putting it back in the cupboard.

"Colonel Carter is right. Some of this technology is unfamiliar to me, as well," Teal'c said.

"What's that?" Daniel asked, one piece of technology catching his eye.

He extracted it from the case and held it for the others to see. One part resembled a regular ribbon device. Unlike a ribbon device, however, a thin gold cord connected it to another hand piece, again similar to a ribbon device, but instead of slipping ones hand in, it appeared to clamp onto the persons arm, all the way up to above the elbow.

"I am unfamiliar with this piece of technology, Daniel Jackson," answered Teal'c. "As I am unfamiliar with most of this equipment."

"Sam?" Daniel asked.

She was staring intently at the device. "N…no," she answered finally. "Doesn't ring a bell with me, either."

A few moments of silence passed as she gazed fixedly at the burnished gold.

"Well…" she said slowly, "Teal'c, why don't you and Daniel explore the rest of this temple, see if we can get some translations and an idea of what happened. I'm… I'm going to pack some of this stuff up so we can take it home."

With a glance at Teal'c, Daniel shrugged and went off to find a pillar to translate.

Sam went back to the MALP and found a small but heavy carbon box, which she began loading the equipment in. She grabbed a ribbon device, and a healing device, but mainly chose samples of the unidentified technology.

When she was satisfied one of everything had made it into the box, she returned it to the MALP. Then she went back to her pack and slipped the last remaining object inside.

The double-ribbon device she intended to study for herself.


	2. Periclitatio

"**IMPERIUM"**

**Previously, on _Stargate: SG-1_…**

**For Summary, Disclaimer and all that other fun stuff, please see Chapter One. Yes, I really am that slack not to cut and paste it. Except for: this chapter has direct spoilers for "Seth" and again, "Gemini".**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed. Everyone is very sweet. I like this job.**

* * *

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."**

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

* * *

"Receiving IDC, sir," announced the airman at the gate controls. "It's SG-1, right on time."

"Good," Jack said. "Open the iris."

It was still weird, he mused, that he was the one giving the order, instead of being on the other side of the gate. It didn't seem like it was something he'd ever get used to. The words had always sounded so fitting in General Hammond's mouth, but in his, they sounded… like an impostor. He vaguely wondered if the feeling would ever go away, as he watched his former team step through the shimmering blue wall and back to Earth.

"SG-1?" he inquired.

"We didn't manage to ascertain the cause of the Goa'uld decline, sir," Carter called up. "However, Daniel did manage to get a comprehensive record of the Goa'uld writing on the pillars, and we found some previously unknown Goa'uld technology."

"Good work, Colonel," he praised her. "Daniel, if you'd like you could…"

"Start translating the inscriptions?" butted in the archaeologist, already half way out the 'gate room as an airman relieved him off his pack.

"Yeah, that…" sighed Jack. "Carter, take the technology to the armoury, have it catalogued, and I'll have some people start looking over it. Teal'c… you… er, debriefing in one hour."

"Yes, sir," answered Carter. She removed the carbon box from the MALP and handed it to an airman.

A second airman tried to take her pack.

"Ah, no thanks, I'll take care of that myself, I'm going that way anyway," she ordered him, gesturing to the box.

"Whatever you say, ma'am," the airman complied, and went to work removing the MALP from the 'gate room.

* * *

After the debriefing, Sam finally had a chance to return to her lab, where she had stashed the double-ribbon device before the others studying the technology had had a chance to look at it. She carefully closed the door, to make sure there would be no unexpected entries, and pulled the glittering metal object from its hiding place.

As she gazed at its golden glow, she felt a feeling well up inside her that she had never felt before. It was almost… the closest thing she could akin it to was… _lust_, but it disappeared as quickly as it arose. Shaking slightly, she began to place the device on her fingers. First, the one that looked like a conventional ribbon device… and then she began to clamp the other part on her arm. The clamps snapped fast over her arm in a vice-like grip, and she felt a wave of pain roll through her body. Like her previous feeling, however, it quickly disappeared, and she felt better than she had ever had in her life.

Concentrating, she raised her hands to chest level, holding them shoulder width apart.

_You have the will within you…you must summon it_.

The words of Selmak came floating back to her, the first time she had _really_ tried to use a ribbon device, the first time she had used it to kill someone… She remembered the feeling of forcing Seth's body backward with simply a thought…

You have the will within you… 

The normal ribbon device glowed to life on her left hand. Concentrating harder, she forced the glow along the connecting cord and the device on her right hand came alive. Sam felt a surge of power rocket through her body and a huge, shimmering ball pooled between her outstretched hands. It continued to grow, and she let it, feeding it more power with her mind until it was bigger than her own body, relishing in the rush it gave her.

Too late, she realised; she hadn't had the practice to deal with it and she lost control. The ball of light flew from her hands, sending her flying five metres backwards where she hit he wall with a loud thump. It then exploded throughout the room, vaporising objects closest to the blast and tossing others to the floor. Such was the force of the explosion that it even managed to crack the reinforced concrete of the walls of the lab.

Under a pile of rubble from a broken shelf, Sam Carter lay unconscious.

* * *

A way away, in his own office, Jack was startled to feel a tremor rock through the building. Whatever it was, it had to be big to shake the foundations of the SGC, which was designed to withstand a hit from a thermonuclear weapon. He quickly hit the emergency button under his desk and the alarms around the base flew to life.

Leaping from behind the desk, he ran to the control room, expecting to see that the 'gate had fallen over or something similar, only to find several confused looking technicians.

"Wasn't us, sir," one of them said.

Jack frowned and reached for a microphone. "This is General O'Neill. Would anyone who has any idea what just caused the SGC to start a-rockin', please call the 'gate control room, as I am very interested in finding out."

He hung up; expecting an abashed nerd to soon be on the line telling him it had been a stupid experiment. After five minutes however, no one had called in an error.

"Oh, for crying out loud," he murmured, turning to leave the control room.

He swept down the corridors and into the elevator, frustrated at the sound of blaring alarms. Which he knew was rather silly, considering he'd pull them himself. He walked past a startled Daniel in his lab.

"What the…" began the younger man as the General swept by.

Jack was heading towards Sam's lab, intent on soliciting her help.

When he arrived however, all he found was her doorway half caved in and the foundations of her lab near-collapsed.

"Oh my…" said Daniel, coming up behind Jack. "What do you think she…"

Jack stepped into the room and found the trigger to stop the alarms. He also found the microphone to the base PA system, relatively undamaged. Well, undamaged enough for his purposes, anyway.

"Medical team to Colonel Carter's laboratory. Repeat, medical team to Colonel Carter's laboratory."

He stepped gingerly over the remains of the door and made his way to Sam's side.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Carter," he murmured to her prone form. "What on earth have you done with yourself this time?"

Bending over, he carefully removed a bit of the rubble that had fallen on to her knee, and easily hefted his subordinate into his arms. The medical team had, by this time, arrived at her lab, and he gently placed her on the gurney, which was quickly rushed off to the infirmary.

* * *

"What happened, General?" asked the doctor, after Sam had been treated and stabilised.

"I'm not sure," Jack mused quietly. "I think she was playing around with some Goa'uld technology."

"You mean that thing we took off her arm? Respectfully, sir, that took a hell of a lot of pulling to get off. You think that's what destroyed her office?"

"Yeah, I do think," Jack snapped back.

"Well that's a first…"spoke up Daniel, who had being hovering quietly in the background.

He was rewarded with a dry glare from Jack.

"What I want to know, however, Doctor, is what's the damage?" the General continued, trying to ignore the snickers of a few of the nursing staff.

"Well, for starters she'll have a bit of a concussion, so I'm confining her to base for at least three days. Her left knee probably got hardest hit, and she has some deep tissue bruising. The rest of her is fine, a bit battered, but mostly fine. She'll be up and about by tomorrow, but I don't think she should see any action for a week on that knee."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll see to it that she doesn't go anywhere."

"Yes, General," the doctor replied, before walking off to attend to another patient, a member of SG-4, who had returned from a planet with what appeared to be a plant growing out of his left arm.

"Er… if you don't mind me asking, Jack," Daniel said again, serious this time, "How are you going to stop her from doing anything? It's just not Sam to sit idly around, even if she is injured. Short of restraining her…"

Jack's eyes gleamed thoughtfully.

"Which you _cannot do_," Daniel said quickly, "There isn't a lot you can do to make her keep off it. I mean, sure, you can stop her going through the 'gate, but…that's about it. And correct me if I'm wrong, but Sam hasn't ever really demonstrated that she knows the meaning of the words 'rest and relaxation'".

"Exactly what I was thinking, my dear Doctor Jackson," Jack said with a broad grin that frightened Daniel a lot more than the earlier glare had. "Which is exactly why you have been given the task of watching Sam."

"Since when?" Daniel said worriedly.

"Since…" Jack smiled and glanced at his watch. "Let's say… thirteen thirty seven hours."

"Why can't you? I mean, not that I'm not concerned about Sam, but I just don't think I can… handle her."

"I can't… because I have… um…" Jack stared around the room looking for an excuse. "General's… stuff! I have… paperwork. Keep her calm and let that knee heal, Daniel, and that's an order."

* * *

The next morning, Jack was relieved from his 'General's stuff' by a knock on his door.

"Come," he called, and the door opened to revealing a surprisingly refreshed and chipper looking Sam. Slightly too chipper, for someone who had single-handedly managed to destroy several tons of reinforced concrete the previous afternoon.

"Good morning, sir," she announced brightly. "How's your paperwork coming?"

"Carter…" he began, unnerved by her seemingly effortless recovery. It was as he was gathering his thoughts that a second idea hit him. "Where's Daniel?"

"Daniel, sir?" Sam asked, too innocently.

"Yes, Daniel. About yay high," he gestured with his hands, "Kind of shaggy, bespectacled, disposition of a Labrador? _Supposed_ to be keeping you out of trouble?"

"With all due respect sir, I appreciate the concern, but I'm not over doing anything, it's just a bump on the knee."

"That still doesn't explain where Daniel is."

"I locked him in a closet on the sub-level nineteen," Sam replied, without the slightest hesitation.

"You _what_?" Jack asked, incredulous. This was not the Sam he knew, not at all. The Sam he knew would have sighed and kept about her business, while trying to ignore Daniel as much as possible, but she never would have outright got rid of him.

"Don't worry, sir, he's making a lot of noise, I'm sure someone has let him out by now."

Jack gaped.

"It's alright, the infirmary said I was remarkably fine, sir."

"I know," Jack said, recovering his sense of protocol and taking a calming sip of coffee. "However, no 'gate travel for a week, I'm afraid."

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about, sir," Sam said, a slight break appearing in her perfect façade.

"End of conversation, Carter, you are not going through this week. The galaxy can survive without you for a few days," Jack said, in his best 'General's voice', a tone he hoped would broker no argument.

"I understand that, sir," she said.

"You do?" Jack asked, surprised. "I mean… really?"

"Yes, sir," she answered. "However, I want to run something by you. I think I should carry a ribbon device with me when we go on missions."

Jack nearly choked.

"You want to _what_, Carter?"

"I want to carry a ribbon device with me through the 'gate. As a secondary weapon, sir."

Rather shocked, Jack glanced up at Sam, and for a second he felt like he didn't know her. She was staring perfectly calmly at him. He couldn't feel the regular vibe between them that he had always taken as standard; only a feeling of tangible confidence and strength was flowing from her now. This Sam he had never seen before, and he didn't understand it, nor did he like it.

"We'll… we'll have to discuss it with the rest of your team," he said lamely. "Get… get Daniel out of the closet. We'll have to ask SG-1."

* * *


	3. Arma

**"IMPERIUM" **

Following the dramatic slalom of last week's episode…

**Thank you to all those who reviewed, the response has been overwhelming. However, for those who enjoyed this story and are wishing to have it updated regularly, just a small note:**

**Yesterday I went back to school, for my Senior year, so updates may be a few days in between. I will try to update this story as fast as I can, because I rather like it myself, however, sometimes it will be slower than usual. This is due to the fact that unfortunately, between writing fanfiction or doing the study that will impact the rest of my life, fanfiction does have to come second. _Nevertheless_, I will endeavor to update as fast as I can! Thanks to everyone who reads this story for their patience.**

**Finally, for myself and all the other heavenly creatures Down Under:**

**HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY (January 26)!!!**

* * *

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."**

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

* * *

Jack had Teal'c and Sam assembled in the briefing room. Teal'c was looking rather non-plussed at the reason for this meeting, while Sam was sitting calmly, the perfect image of an Air Force Colonel. And Daniel… Daniel was nowhere to be found.

Jack was just about to send Teal'c to make sure that he really had gotten out of the cupboard, when the frazzled archaeologist himself burst into the room.

"Sam!" he said surprised. "I've been looking all over for you! The closet door locked behind me when I went to get that screwdriver you wanted…"

Jack was amazed at Sam's ability to keep a perfectly straight face as Daniel placed a thick screwdriver on the table.

Daniel pushed his glasses further up his nose. "So, uh… what's going on here?"

"Colonel Carter has made a request," Jack said flatly.

"A request, O'Neill?" asked Teal'c, cocking one eyebrow in the way that only a confused Jaffa can.

"Carter seems to think it would be… prudent… if she carried one of the ribbon devices with her on missions," the General answered, looking none to pleased.

"Sam?" asked Daniel, worry springing into his bright eyes. "You… you want a ribbon device? After what you've seen it do?"

"Especially after what I've seen it do," she replied firmly. "I was just thinking, we have access to the technology, I have the ability to use it. The Goa'uld make use of it, why shouldn't we?"

"Because the Goa'uld are _evil_?" asked Daniel, looking rather alarmed.

"But _we're_ not, Daniel. We can use it for good. Just think of how many situations we could get out of if we had a ribbon device. It's much more effective than a P-90 or a staff," she argued, a passionate fire coming into her eyes that usually only a quark or a gluon could put there.

"I was under the impression that you had an intense dislike of the Goa'uld ribbon device, Colonel Carter," interjected Teal'c.

"I… did," said Sam, faltering for the first time in the meeting. "But… sometimes we have to do things that we'd rather not to stand up for what is right."

"Noble words, Colonel Carter," was Teal'c's only response.

"So why are we having this discussion?" Jack butted in suddenly, the first words he'd spoken since calling the meeting. "You just said it yourself, Carter, you'd rather not."

"I'm afraid you've misunderstood my meaning, sir," Sam replied sternly. "I meant that as an example. Personally, sir, I think the ribbon device can bring many advantages to our team in combat. With three of us, we really could use the extra firepower."

"But what about you?" Jack asked in a pained voice. "I mean… it nearly destroyed you when you used one on Seth."

"I was fine, sir," she answered in her best 'soldiers voice'. "I just needed some time to come to terms with that kind of power. Which I have, sir. It's just another weapon, something I firmly believe I can turn to our advantage."

"But what about what happened to your office. That was out of control," Jack said, knowing he was fighting a losing battle.

"That was the double ribbon device, sir. A normal ribbon device I'm certain I could handle, sir," she answered, eyes gleaming.

Jack sighed; realizing dissuading Sam was going to be inexplicably impossible.

"Teal'c?" he asked finally. "This affects the whole team, ergo, it is a team decision."

"I believe it is up to Colonel Carter. I have seen the ribbon device at work, and it would be a formidable weapon against the Goa'uld," was the stately Jaffa's ambiguous answer.

"Daniel?"

The young archaeologist stared at his blonde friend. "Sam?" he pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," she replied, "But I really think this is for the best."

"But this thing hurt you…" he said, voice strained. "But… it is your decision," he concluded eventually.

Sam's eyes gleamed with something that looked disturbingly like ecstasy.

"Okay," Jack relented wearily. "You can take it on your next mission as a trial. If it works effectively and you don't get to ribbon device happy, I'll consider letting you take it on other missions."

He paused and looked Sam dead in the eyes. "Nothing I could say could stop you anyway, could it, Carter? Just don't be telling the other Generals I can't control my subordinates."

Sam nodded in agreement. "No, sir, I don't think you could stop me if you tried."

The answer was spoken jokingly, but there was a harder edge behind her voice that all three men picked up on, and none of them liked.

"With you're permission, sir?" she asked, rising to her feet and collecting the screwdriver Daniel had acquired for her.

"Of course, Carter. By all means, fiddle with your doohickeys. Just rest that knee."

The slim Colonel smiled slightly and exited the briefing room in a sweeping, military stride.

* * *

"You really think you couldn't stop her if you tried, Jack?" Daniel asked after a long silence.

"Well, she did lock you in that closet," the General replied with a wry smile, moving to leave the briefing room.

Daniel blinked slowly a few times, gaped like a fish in the direction of Sam's exit, blinked some more, and then realized that Jack and Teal'c had left him to be stunned alone.

"She… _what_?"

* * *

After leaving Daniel alone to ponder Sam's 'treachery', Teal'c and Jack made their way to the commissary for a break.

Jack selected a double chocolate chip muffin and a coffee. Comparatively, Teal'c selected enough corned beef to constitute a baby cow, half a cheesecake, a bunch of red grapes, and a miniature cottage pie.

The pair selected a table quite apart from a group of technicians having an animated argument with a pair of burly marines from SG-7.

"Um…" began Jack, eyeing Teal'c's feast. "Do you think I made the right decision, T?" he asked slowly, biting into his muffin.

"I believe you are correct in saying Colonel Carter would have found another way. She is a formidable woman when she is determined."

"You think?" Jack said drily. "I just… I don't get it. One minute, she's scared to death of the things; the next, she's destroying laboratories and wanting to take them out on missions."

"Perhaps she is willing to sacrifice her own personal fears for the good of the Taur'i. I have seen ribbon devices used many times, O'Neill, and she is right in her estimate of their value to our cause. Especially in the small scale guerilla warfare that SG units practice."

"It's just… unexpected, you know?" Jack sighed.

"I do know, O'Neill. It is most out of character for Colonel Carter. However, I do not think you are incorrect in allowing her to use the weapon. It is valuable."

"But at the expense of Carter?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, but offered his friend what could most closely be determined as a reassuring look. "I believe time will tell, O'Neill."

Jack stared down at his muffin and felt his appetite wane. There was a feeling in his gut that this was so damn _wrong_, but another voice told him it was ultimately Sam's decision. Even if he did have power of veto as her General, he just didn't think he could deny her something she so obviously, ardently wanted. Even if he had a feeling it was a bad idea.

"Time will tell, Teal'c? You know I hate clichés," he said grumpily, draining his coffee. "And I'm not a patient man!"

* * *


	4. Provoco

"**IMPERIUM"**

**Live from P3X-595…**

**Greetings, all. I have decided to stick to an update schedule; attempting to update every Thursday and Sunday (Australian time). Which for some of you will be Wednesdays and Saturdays… I think. Not that it really matters, the point is, I'm trying to get two updates a week.**

**Random bit of trivia (and I hope I got this right!) – for those who are familiar with Seasons Two and Eight (which _should_ be the entirety of the known world). I was re-watching _The Tok'ra (Part One), _and in the bit where General Hammond goes to visit Jacob Carter in the hospital, a call goes out over the PA for one Doctor _Shanahan_. Popular name, isn't it?**

* * *

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires." **

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

* * *

A week after Sam's accident, Jack was searching the base for the Colonel to ask her to report to the infirmary to be mission checked. To his surprise, he found her not embroiled in a tangle of wires and flashing lights in her lab, but in the gym, commencing a brutal assault on a treadmill.

She was so absorbed in her process she failed to notice him cough when he entered.

"Carter!" he snapped at her finally.

Without breaking stride, she looked up and offered him a huge grin. "Morning, sir."

"I got a request on my desk this morning asking that you report…"

"To the infirmary to be okayed for the next mission," she finished, beaming. "One step ahead of you sir. The doctor said my knee is fine, and I can resume missions with your authorisation."

"Ah…" Jack said, frowning. "You did this… when?"

"0600 this morning, sir," she said, still smiling.

It then struck Jack as odd that she was managing to have a strenuous run on the treadmill, on a recently recovered knee, while having a perfectly normal conversation, and was hardly blowing at all.

"Um… my, how fit you look today, Carter," he commented awkwardly.

"Thank you, sir," she smiled again.

Jack was starting to find it a little creepy.

"I wanted to make sure I was up to scratch before SG-1 gets back into the field," she explained, pressing a button and allowing the treadmill to slow before jumping off.

"Oh, I think you'll be scratching just fine, Carter," Jack said, watching as she wiped the beads of sweat from her neck and took a long swig from her drink bottle.

"So what brings you here this morning, sir?"

"Well, looking for you, but I usually meet T here of a morning for a bit of boxing. You know…" he said, dancing lightly on his feet and punching the air as way of explanation.

"Yes, sir. Teal'c left already, sir, he said something about an inadequate Kel'no'reem? He did a small workout and then left. Perhaps he isn't up for boxing this morning, sir?"

"He musn't be…" mused Jack. "Damn it, always like to start the day off with a good box."

"You mean you like to start your day flat on your back on the floor?" she asked innocently. The 'sir' was eventually added as an afterthought when Jack raised his eyebrows.

"I'll have you know I can take Teal'c on, pound for pound, Carter," Jack grumbled.

"Yes, sir," she answered, her blue eyes sparkling with a mischief he rarely saw. "Perhaps, then, you would like to take me on? I'm up for a round or two, sir."

"You, Carter?" he asked, eyeing her shrewdly.

"What, sir, afraid to fight a little girl? I've had most of the same training as you, sir."

"Well, I've had Special Forces training, Carter…" Jack reminded her.

"Teal'c hasn't, and you fight him," she countered.

"He's a Jaffa, Carter… that's like, Goa'uld Special Forces."

"So?" she demanded. "Are you afraid of me, sir?"

"What?" Jack scoffed, unintentionally. "I'm afraid of _hurting_ you, Carter, there's a difference."

"And I'm _not_ afraid of you hurting me, sir. Come on," she taunted, "We'll be wearing padding. It's no more mismatched than you fighting Teal'c."

Jack bridled at her last comment. "You really think you can take me, Carter?" he said roughly.

"I think you should let me try, sir. You enjoy your boxing, I'm up for the challenge… it might be nice to win for a change, sir," she smiled, provoking him again.

"Make no mistake, Carter, I will win," he responded, offering her a grim smile.

"So you accept my challenge, sir?" she asked triumphantly.

"Yeah, all right. You and me, it's on," he said, a trace of reluctance still in his voice as he offered her a hand to seal the deal.

"Really?" piped up a voice from near the barbells.

The two officers turned to see a sweaty airman with big eyes.

"Yes, really," growled Jack in his best 'scary General' voice. "What are you looking at, Airman?"

"N…nothing, sir," the young man stammered. "I was just leaving, s… sir."

He gathered his towel and positively leapt over a row of barbells on the ground and skidded out the door.

"I must say, sir, you are remarkably talented at inspiring fear amongst the ranks," Sam observed wryly.

"Why, thank you, Carter. I pride myself on good work."

* * *

The airman that had overheard the exchange between the Colonel and the General raced down the hallways of the SCG. It was a well known fact within the SCG that if you were on base at 0630 and it wasn't because you needed to attend the Stargate, you were in the commissary, trying to convince your body to respond to a shot of caffeine. 

He burst into the commissary to find a host of around twenty staff, including airmen, some of SG-3, -6 and -11, some medical staff, and the rest of SG-1.

They all looked up at his stunning entrance, expecting to hear news of an alien incursion, and explosion from Colonel Carter's lab, or a virus in the computers. What they heard, however, was what many people had been wondering about for a long time.

"_ColonelCarterisabouttofightGeneralO'Neill,"_ the airman gasped.

"Excuse me?" asked Daniel, worried. He was certain he had heard the words 'Carter' and 'O'Neill' in the garbled sentence.

"I _said_, Colonel Carter is about to fight General O'Neill. They've issued a boxing challenge to one another."

"I am sure it is just practice," spoke up Teal'c. "I often spar with O'Neill. It is a training exercise, nothing more."

"No," said the airman, "This is for _real_. I think they are going to really go for it, sirs. It's a real fight."

Colonel Makepeace stood up and put his coffee cup down on the table.

"Carter is taking on the General?" he mused. "That _would _be… interesting. SG-3?" he addressed his team. "We have to… go… now… and finish that… paperwork… for the _General_," he said slowly.

The rest of his team, catching his drift, slowing rose and started muttering about unfinished paperwork as they left the commissary. It did not go unnoticed, however, that they went in completely the opposite direction from the team offices. More in the direction of the gym, really.

The rest of the people in the commissary exchanged looks, all privately thinking the same thoughts. This became immediately apparent when, at some unseen signal, they rose as one and raced out of the commissary, jockeying for prime position to get into the gym and watch the SGC equivalent of a rumble in the jungle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam and Jack were putting on their padding and giving eachother a chance to warm up on the bags, each surreptitiously taking a note of the others ability. 

"Formal boxing, sir? Or just free hand-to-hand?" she asked after a long silence.

"Whatever you think you can knock me down with, Carter. Boxing knockout rules, however."

"Down for the count, sir?" she smiled, driving home a particularly harsh punch into the bag.

"Not me, Carter," he snapped back, not willing to concede even the verbal sparring. "Now, Carter, I really don't want to hurt you… you can throw in the towel at any time, you know."

"I hope this isn't a way of saying you are going to slack off, sir. I want you to hit me with everything you've got."

"Carter…" he sighed, reluctant to cause her pain.

"No 'Carter', sir. This is a serious match," she stopped punching the bag and looked him square in the eyes. "Promise me you won't hold back."

Jack stared her down. It went against everything in his being to cause this woman pain.

_You got yourself into this, Jack old boy,_ his conscience reminded him. Jack frowned, and he hoped Sam didn't notice the pain flash across his features.

"Deal," he conceded finally, rapping his gloves against hers to seal the pact.

"Ready, sir?"

"As I'll ever be, Carter," he replied, as they both made their way onto the boxing mats.

It was at this time that twenty-odd members of the SGC filed into the room and took up positions around the outside of the ring. Jack glared at every single one of them, but no-one stepped forward to offer an explanation. Eventually, he threw his hands up in frustration.

"It appears we have an audience, Carter…"

"I've noticed, sir," she replied. Her blue eyes had lost their sparkle and were now hardened into the type of look she only had when she was blowing up motherships, taking on Mongol warlords, and all the other fun stuff she embroiled herself in on a regular basis. The audience, it seemed, didn't bother _her_. In fact, it seemed to Jack that she was excited at the prospect of performing for a crowd.

"Let's do it."

* * *


	5. Dimicatio

"**IMPERIUM"**

**Last seen tattooed on the small of Aphophis' back…**

**Welcome! To another Thursday update! (For all those in Australia, a special day, as not only have I updated, but Stargate returns tonight on a television device near you!) Pretty much the only summary of this installment I can offer is…**

**FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!**

**Oh, wait, something else just occurred to me. This scene has a soundtrack. For the ultimate reading experience, read this chapter while listening to "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison" by My Chemical Romance, from the album _Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge_. It fits perfectly with how this fight actually works in my head.**

**Turn it up _loud_.**

* * *

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires." **

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

* * *

Jack danced lightly on his toes as he and Sam slowly circled eachother. Each was wearing padding around the head and the body, but both had declined the use of gloves, giving them the mobility to employ other fighting styles than boxing. News had travelled rapidly around the base, even at this early hour, and the audience had swelled to over fifty people.

"Is anyone watching the Stargate?" Jack asked acerbically to the rabid audience.

No-one answered, but a few people shifted uncomfortably.

"Are we going to get this over with, sir?" Sam asked, her face hard and unreadable. She looked tough and fit, and she was eyeing him off with a clinical coldness.

"I guess…" Jack said slowly. He moved further into a fighting stance and stared deep into Sam's eyes. Not for the first time in the past few days, he felt like he didn't know her.

_I wonder who will make the first…_

His thoughts were abruptly cut off as Sam swung a brutal punch at his jawbone. Caught off balance, it was only a chance reflex that saved him from going down. He managed to snap his head back in time so only the very edges of her knuckles grazed his cheek. He heard the audience gasp as he staggered backwards.

While he knew the punch was probably not the strongest she could have thrown, it did tell him one thing – she was in this to win.

He danced backward, collecting his thoughts and regrouping. Sam went on the offence and charged straight at him in a style that borrowed more from wrestling than boxing. Jack swiftly side-stepped her and with a deft flick of his arm, he yanked her around into a tight headlock. She gasped as the breath was squeezed from her throat.

Alarmed, Jack let go, cursing himself for hurting her. In the next instance, he paid dearly for his compassion as she drove a stunning punch into his gut, winding him.

_Oh, that's **it**_! he thought angrily. His blood was up now, and he realised she wouldn't be showing him mercy anytime soon. This was a serious fight.

Sam came at him again, and he blocked her, not in defence, but in a decisive counterattack that caught her hard about the shoulders. She pivoted on her back foot, absorbing the blow. She twisted her hips and aimed a low kick.

Jack grunted as she hit his knee and its cartilage problem square on. The pain was so intense he buckled and fell to one knee.

The audience were staring, slack jawed at the scene. Sam danced back from her opponent, breathing steadily, her hands up defensively. Jack was still on one knee, looking more like he was proposing to her than meeting her in battle. Eventually, Jack managed to push himself to his feet. A part of his brain registered the fact that she had played his weakness, and he wanted to punish her for it.

Lunging, he drove a harsh punch at her face, so hard that even the head protector didn't stop the blow from drawing blood from her lower lip. Jack instantly regretted the move, made in the heat of battle, but to his immense surprise, Sam smiled broadly at him.

"Finally, sir," she said, smirking as they continued their promenade.

"_What_, Carter?" he snapped harshly.

"You're finally getting into it, sir," she said. The smile was fixed on her face, but there was a slight goading tone behind her voice.

Jack growled slightly, and the audience roared approval as the combatants engaged eachother once again. The epic battle wore on, and Jack knew, that while he had experience far beyond hers, she was younger and doubtlessly more agile. Put simply – he couldn't beat her at long range, with kicks or punches. She was simply too quick.

There was something else, too. Over the course of their fight, she had let loose a series of stunning blows and strikes that would have left any other man down. It was all the General could do to keep up with her blinding speed. A lesser man would have been on the floor long ago. In fact, in his experience, Jack had only experienced two or three fights more taxing and vicious and all of them had been a fight for his life.

A look in her blue eyes confirmed his thoughts. As he desperately blocked another brutal blow, he saw a coldness that frightened him. She was acting as if possessed by some barbarous force that was turning her into one of the best fighters he had ever seen.

He realised his only chance to beat her was to bring her body to body, where her speed would be of no use, and he could use his superior size and weight to take her down.

Crouching lower, he anticipated her next punch and used some of the last reserves of his energy to grab her by the wrists and pull her close into him. His second arm was just as quick, snaking around her other wrist with a deceptive quickness so she was locked into his body. She beat her fits uselessly against his chest. It seemed his assumption was correct – her inferior weight was putting her at a gross disadvantage.

Now he had the upper hand, he began to force her to her knees, much in the way he had been on his own minutes before. Time passed slowly as she struggled against him, the only sounds in the room being her soft grunts and the collective intake of breath made by the crowd.

Slowly, very, very slowy, she began to fall to the floor, her face going red with exertion.

"Give up, Carter?" he panted.

Something hardened further in her features, and suddenly a dangerous, terrible look came into her eyes. For the first time in a long while, Jack felt truly afraid.

"No, sir," she groaned, and with colossal effort, swung her legs upwards to clamp around his ribs in a vice. She wrenched her wrists out of his grasp as her powerful thighs cut off his air supply. Throwing her body backwards, she landed on her hands, while releasing her legs and flipping backward to land firmly on her feet.

So surprised, Jack didn't react in time, as her fist came flying towards his face. He felt his nose explode in a shower of blood as he fell.

Down for the count.

"Give up, sir?" she asked acidly.

"Yeah…" Jack moaned, rolling to cradle his bleeding nose.

The crowd gave a small, stunned round of applause.

Sam broke into a small smile, removed her headgear, and offered a hand to help him up.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to hit you that hard," she said pleasantly. He looked back at her. All traces of the fierce, animal-like Carter he had faced earlier were gone – she was back to being his sweet, smart, caring Colonel.

"It's alright, Carter. I've had worse," he said stoically. "Good match."

"You too, sir," she smiled again, offering a hand for him to shake. He shook it firmly, before she let go and left the gym.

* * *

"Tough match!" observed Daniel, who had come up behind the General after the crowd had disappated, talking excitedly.

"Yeah…" Jack said softly. "Did you notice something… different about Carter?"

"She did indeed have a heightened level of aggression, O'Neill," Teal'c observed, joining his comrades.

"You think?" Jack snapped sarcastically. "She was an animal out there."

"I also did not believe she was capable of such skill in combat. Perhaps her aggression was stimulated by the contest?" Teal'c suggested.

"Whatever it was, she seemed back to normal once the fight was over, Jack," Daniel said.

"Yeah…" Jack mused quietly."Listen… can you guys keep a close eye on her on your next mission? Just in case she gets… fierce? She seems to be acting like this a lot lately."

"Certainly, O'Neill," Teal'c inclined his head.

"Sure…" Daniel agreed. "I wouldn't worry too much, Jack. It's Sam. I'm sure this is just a phase, or something. I haven't noticed anything. She'll be fine."

He clapped Jack on the back and offered him a reassuring smile.

"Just fine…" the General repeated softly as they walked away.

He thought back to the two Sams he had seen today. And the day before that. And every damn day since she had had that accident with the ribbon device.

_Normal-Sam… and Vicious-Dangerous-Truculent-Sam._

The trouble was, he was finding it harder and harder to distinguish between the two.

* * *


	6. Adlegatio

"**IMPERIUM"**

**Proudly brought to you by various Stargate Fans… the other, other, _other_ white meat… **

**I really, really should be writing an essay on '_Macbeth'._ _Really_. And I apologise if this chapter is kind of… funky (ha, ha!). **

**Let's just say I was at a really big party last night. I'm still seeing things.**

* * *

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires." **

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

* * *

****

Jack watched from the control room as SG-1 lined up for their first mission since Sam's accident. The fight between himself and his Colonel had already become the stuff of legends on the base. In the latest version he had heard, Sam had been wearing a very revealing Spandex suit and had beaten him by knocking him out with a barbell. Other versions recounted that she had ripped out a chunk of his hair and… eaten it. He shook his head ruefully as he thought back to the wild rumours floating around the base. Surprisingly, no one had begrudged him the loss. He had many people who had watched the fight congratulate him and inform him that they didn't think anyone could have done better under the circumstances.

"Um… sir?" asked the 'gate technician.

"What?" asked Jack, ripped from his reverie.

"SG-1 have been waiting your confirmation for around three minutes."

He looked down into the 'gate room and found SG-1 staring back up at him expectantly.

"Oh! Right… feel free to take 'em out, Colonel."

"Yes, sir," Sam said brightly.

She nodded to Daniel and Teal'c, who ascended the ramp and disappeared through the shining pool. Sam smiled back up at him as she attached the ribbon device Jack had allowed her into a special holster on her hip. The holster made sure that it was concealed from view, lest a new group of alien friends thought they really _were_ Goa'uld. A Jaffa, and now an active ribbon device probably did very little to dispell this idea, so she hid it away. Jack sighed as he watched her move rapidly up the ramp and disappear; wondering if allowing her to carry the device was the best or worst decision he had ever made.

* * *

The General made his way back slowly to his office and slumped down in his chair, pondering what was happening on the other side of the 'gate, millions of miles away. So lost in thought was he that he jumped about a mile in the air when his aide came through the door.

"Sir?"

"Yeah?" Jack asked, shaking his head to clear it.

"There's an urgent call for you on line two."

"This better be the President," Jack said wearily as he waved the aide out and picked up the receiver. "O'Neill."

"Good morning, General," an unusually grave but familiar voice answered. "We need to talk."

Jack reeled as he recognised the speaker.

"_Shanahan?_ What do you want?"

* * *

Daniel and Teal'c turned as their commanding officer followed them through the 'gate.

"Alright, guys," Sam said, very chipper. "The UAV seemed to show signs of life in that direction."

She raised a finger to point directly at the planets massive sun. Daniel shielded his eyes and followed the line of her finger.

"There seems to be some kind of smoke coming from that direction," he observed.

"Indeed," concurred Teal'c.

"Alright, well… shall we, gentlemen?" Sam said, adjusting her pack slightly before moving off.

* * *

"How did you get this number?" Jack demanded. The pair had met on several occasions, and they had stretched the boundaries of civility every time. They usually only held it together for Sam's sake, each recognising (albeit grudgingly) that they were both very important to her life.

"Listen, Jack…"

"General O'Neill, thanks," he snapped back icily.

"General… it's unimportant how I got this number. I rang you to talk about Sam."

"I'm sorry, Pete, but she's not here right now. Can I take a message?" he said, his voice laced with saccharine sarcasm.

"I wasn't aware you were her personal answering machine," Pete replied.

"Neither was I, but apparently that's in the fine print."

Jack heard Pete exhale a loud sigh, and a few moments of silence stretched between them.

"Can we cut the sarcasm for just a minute, O'Neill? Or is that too difficult?"

"Fine…" Jack said grudgingly. "What about Sam?"

"Has she been acting… kind of… funky, lately?"

"Funky, Shanahan? What exactly do you mean by… funky? Is this cop-speak I'm not aware of?" Jack said, trying and failing miserably not to sound bitter and acerbic.

"Why don't you like me, O'Neill?"

"Why do you use words like funky?"

They paused for breath again, each privately stewing at the other man.

"Listen, can we just focus on Samantha, here? Cause something isn't right. And when something isn't right with her, I usually assume it has something to do with what goes on in that crazy mountain of yours."

"Okay, okay. What's wrong with Carter?"

"You know, you can't call her 'Carter' forever. She's not _going_ to be 'Carter' forever," said Pete, continuing off on another tangent again.

"Yes, she is," Jack said stubbornly, kicking himself inwardly for sounding so childish.

"So what exactly do you think her name is going be once we're married?" Pete said, frustration evident in his voice.

"Samantha Carter?" Jack said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well… she will be my _wife_," Pete said, emphasising the last word. "I _was_ thinking Samantha Shanahan."

"Samantha _Shanahan_? What is she, some riverboat showgirl?"

Pete went silent, and Jack smiled triumphantly to himself.

"Listen, at the present point in time, whatever we call her is irrelevant. I… I'm worried about her, too, though I probably wouldn't describe it as 'funky'," Jack said eventually, trying to make peace for the sake of his Colonel.

"Okay, you're right," Pete conceded, sighing.

"However… 'Showgirl Sam Shanahan' is a bit crass, you have to admit."

"O'Neill!" Pete growled at him.

"Okay… okay… so what do you think is up with Sam?"

"She's… the other night, she was on downtime, yeah?"

"_Yeah_…"

"I visited her at her place… and she had this… thing, attached to her arm. Like… the first time I found out about the Stargate program? That woman, the alien? Sam had one of those arm things… only bigger. It was attached to her arm and… well she looked kind of wild. I mean, she took it off when I came in, but it didn't seem quite… right. I wondered if you knew anything about it."

There was a moment of silence.

"O'Neill?" Pete asked. "Hello?"

He was greeted by a dull beeping.

Jack had hung up.

* * *

Jack raced out of his office and into the control room.

"You!" he snapped at the nearest person with a computer terminal. "Which teams are on world and on base?"

"Er…" stammered the startled technician, hands flying across the keyboard. "SG Units 4, 7, 8, 11 and 13 are on base, sir."

"Have SG-4 prepped and ready to go through the Stargate. Have SG-13 ready for a topside retrieval mission," Jack ordered. "Have them in the briefing room."

The technician grabbed a microphone and announced over the PA system:

"SG-4, please prepare for a mission through the 'gate, ASAP. SG-13, please prepare for a topside retrieval mission, ASAP. Please report to the briefing room, under orders of General O'Neill. I repeat..."

* * *

No less than fifteen minutes later, the two teams were in the briefing room, awaiting their orders.

"Colonels," Jack addressed the leaders of the two teams. "I need you to both act fast. SG-4, you are going through the 'gate to retrieve SG-1, particularly Colonel Carter. You have authorised use of force. SG-13, I need you to retrieve a Goa'uld item from Colonel Carter's home. Here is the address, and a picture of the object."

"What's wrong with Colonel Carter, sir?" asked Colonel Walsh, commander of SG-13, as he took the paper and studied the device.

"I'm not sure at this point in time, Walsh. But it is imperative that she, and this item, are returned to base immediately. SG-4 and 13, you have a go."

* * *

Jack returned to the control room as they dialled up the 'gate. SG-4 were on the ramp, with only his somewhat cryptic orders to go on.

"Chevron Seven, locked."

The Stargate roared to life, and SG-4 were already moving, running through the 'gate and disappearing into the wormhole.

Jack watched silently as the 'gate shut itself down as the last member went through.

He sighed.

_**

* * *

**_


	7. Rabies

"**IMPERIUM"**

**Known to cause insanity in laboratory Goa'uld…**

**Welcome to another Thursday, and yes, another update! **

**IMPORTANT **

**I write some stuff in Goa'uld later in the chapter… and well, to be honest, my Goa'uld is a little rusty. So rusty, in fact, its just slightly adapted Latin (not, I'm afraid, Ancient Egyptian, or even Egyptian Arabic), mostly with an apostrophe and/or a 'k' added. We'll just call it an 'obscure dialect'.**

**Also, I don't think I've emphasized this enough, but THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed (and most especially, continued to review) this story. **

**Till next time, party on y'all.**

* * *

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires." **

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

**_The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"_**

* * *

SG-1 had walked about three miles before it became apparent the source of the smoke. 

"Oh my…" Daniel murmured as they crested a rise.

The team instantly dropped to their stomachs and hid from view in the long grass. In the small valley below them, a group of Jaffa were piling bodies up and burning them. Several people, obviously the natives, were clustered around, weeping as they were chained up by further Jaffa, while a tall, pale Goa'uld surveyed the scene with a triumphant smile on her face.

"What do you think they did to deserve this?" Daniel asked softly, evidently shaken.

"Naquadria deposits," Sam answered. "The UAV picked up signs of a great deal of naquadria in the area. Evidently, the Goa'uld found this out as well."

"It appears these people put up quite a resistance," whispered Teal'c, noting that the Jaffa were piling several of their own onto the fire. Scorch marks littered the valley.

"We have to help them," Sam murmured, carefully unslinging her pack from her back and being to rummage through it.

"Sam… we have one

90, a revolver, and a staff between us. We'd need at least four SG teams to take down that lot, and even that is a bare minimum."

"I concur with Doctor Jackson, Colonel Carter," said Teal'c urgently. "We cannot hope to defend these people. Our best chance is to return through the Stargate and bring back a team before the Goa'uldrealize the Stargate is being used."

"No, we can help them," Sam said.

"You and what army?" said Daniel, sounding more like Jack than himself.

"Don't be silly, Daniel, I don't need an army."

She smiled reassuringly at him and pulled her ribbon device from its concealed holster.

"O-_kay_, well, yes, that does improve our chances, but not by enough. That thing can't do enough damage to take out an entire contingent of Jaffa."

"Not by itself it won't," Sam said cryptically. She finally found what she was looking for in her backpack, and pulled out the second piece of technology that created the double-ribbon device. "However, I'm fairly sure this will."

Daniel stared at her, aghast. "_Where_ did you get _that_?"

"I do not believe that this is a good idea, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said, his face calm, but an unusual forcefulness behind his words. "You have shown you cannot control..."

"Teal'c… there are innocent people dying. I have the power to stop it. I _can _control it. I _will _control it.Why shouldn't I use it?" Sam shot back.

By now, she had attached the regular ribbon device to her left hand. She was now busily clamping the longer piece on her right arm. There was a slight _whump_ noise as the catches closed, and Sam winced slightly.

Her teammates fell silent as she stood up.

"Any more objections?" she snapped peevishly.

Daniel gaped, and Teal'c lips tightened, but neither made a sound.

"Good," Sam replied, offering the two men a attempt at a reassuring smile, that came off as more downright disturbing.

She reached to the thin gold cord hanging from the device on her right arm, and attached it to the other device. The combined piece of technology hummed to life, and the clamps seemed to bite further into the flesh of Sam's arm.

Daniel stared dead at her, just in time to see a molten black wave radiate out from her pupils, before her eyes resumed their normal blue.

* * *

SG-4 stepped through the 'gate, weapons cautiously raised. 

"Smoke, sir," observed Lieutenant Watts, the youngest member of the team, pointing in the direction SG-1 had gone only a few hours before.

"Quick thinking, Lieutenant," Colonel Walsh praised him. "Colonel Carter no doubt went that way. Dead match to the UAV data, too," he remarked, consulting his compass.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Alright, everybody listen up. Our mission objective is to retrieve Colonel Carter. General O'Neill has authorized the use of non-lethal force, so something pretty funky is going on here. Lieutenant Browning, try to raise SG-1 on radio, while we head on over to that valley."

Walsh surveyed his team, privately wondering what the Colonel had done to earn her formal commanders wroth. He could tell his team was also thinking the same thing. Best not give them time to dwell, lest it compromise the mission. He knew no-one present _really_ wanted to have toharm the woman who had saved the world so many times, but…

"SG-4, move out!"

* * *

"Sam…" Daniel pleaded one last time, as his commanding officer and friend made her way down the slope, barely stopping himself from physically restraining her. 

She ignored him.

Teal'c moved towards her, but seemed to think better of it, and instead let out something Daniel could only figure was a Goa'uld curse word.

Sam was loping down the slope now, though as yet, none of the Jaffa had noticed the lone blonde woman. She slid the final few feet onto the valley floor, her hands carefully hidden behind her back so she appeared unarmed.

"Jaffa," she called clearly, "_Kree!_"

The group of Jaffa turned to look at her, stunned to be addressed in their own language by a woman who seemed to possess no obvious power.

"_JAFFA_!" roared the pale Goa'uld, suddenly turning to see Sam. "Kree! _Ne'kora_!"

Daniel and Teal'c watched as the event played out in horrible slow motion. The Jaffa, upon their orders, raised their staff weapons and advanced on Sam. The blonde Colonel stood her ground as fifty odd staff weapons charged and pointed straight at her.

"Somehow," she said, "I don't think so."

Grinning fearlessly, Sam flung her arms forward to reveal the double-ribbon device strapped to her wrists. She lifted her hands and the gold energy flowed between the devices. The energy balled between her fists until it formed a shimmering sphere, twice the size of a basketball.

Daniel looked over at the Goa'uld leader, and was alarmed to find that she was looking especially fearful. In fact, she was revising her orders to the Jaffa, gesturing at them to retreat.

"Goa'uld keso adsu'tedo ma'kina! _Goa'uld keso adsu'tedo ma'kina_!" the pale Goa'uld screamed at Sam, already backing away, so urgently she was tripping over her own ornate cloak. "_MAL'FAKTA!" _

Sam, hearing the woman's screams, turned to face the Goa'uld leader. She pulled her hands apart slightly, and the ball of light hovered between her hands.

"_Mal'fakta_," sobbed the Goa'uld desperately, raising a hopeless hand, as if to ward off the inevitable.

Sam cocked her head for a moment, confused at the torture written across the Goa'uld's face. Then she flicked her fingers, and the ball flew from her hands.

Even Teal'c gasped at the sheer power of the thing. It rocketed towards the woman, still sobbing, and simply obliterated her from existence. It plowed through several of the Jaffa behind her, leaving behind no trace of their presence. Sam adjusted her hands, and the ball followed her command, seeming to act intelligently as it singled out and _hunted_ down the Jaffa, until none remained.

The surviving villagers, terrified, flung themselves to the ground and began singing nervous praises to Sam in a lilting, alien language.

As for Sam herself, she called the ball back into her hands and quashed it with the ribbon devices. She gently removed the clamps around her arm and slid the hand devices off. She was breathing heavily, and her cheeks were flushed bright red, but she was smiling proudly as she turned to face her teammates.

"Daniel! Teal'c!" she called brightly up the slope. "We won!"

Their Colonel was already striding happily up the slope.

"Teal'c?" Daniel asked, shaking slightly. "What just happened?"

"I do not know, Daniel Jackson. However, O'Neill appears to be right… Colonel Carter is certainly not herself."

It was at this moment that Daniel's radio came to life.

"SG-1, please respond," crackled a voice.

"This is Doctor Jackson of SG-1?" Daniel answered numbly.

"This is Lieutenant Browning of SG-4. General O'Neill has ordered us to retrieve Colonel Carter. We're approaching the valley now, what is your position?"

"Thank god Jack has a head on his shoulders," Daniel said softly. "We're at the top of a rise, overlooking that valley."

"Ah, we can see you now, Doctor."

Daniel looked behind him to see the members of SG-4, about aquarter of a mile away, waving.

"Thanks, guys. Can you try to hurry up? Only we might need some help with Colonel Carter. Jackson, out."

He lay down the radio and shared a look with Teal'c. By this time, Sam had made it to the top of the rise, still smiling excessively.

"Uh… Sam…" began Daniel, trying to think of how to phrase a request that she come back through the 'gate, possibly under arrest.

He was cut short, however, as Teal'c swung his staff up in the blink of an eye and caught Sam around the head. She remained conscious long enough for her smile to change to a look of pure surprise, before slumping into Daniel's arms.

"You know," he observed, "We could have just… _asked_ her?" the young archaeologist panted, struggling to hold his friend upright.

"I do not believe Colonel Carter would have co-operated," Teal'c said bluntly. Handing his staff to Daniel, the stately Jaffa relieved the archaeologist of the blonde woman, hefting her weight easily, and placing her carefully over his shoulder, before striding purposefully off to greet SG-4.

"No," agreed Daniel quietly, to himself. "I don't think she would have."

* * *


	8. Captivitas

"**IMPERIUM"**

**Too hot for the Replicators…**

**Just a short note this time! Please see the previous chapter for notes on… how to speak _my_ version of Goa'uld. **

**And does anyone else agree with me that Sam had the best hair of all time in Season 4?**

**

* * *

**

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."**

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**

**

* * *

**

Sam blinked groggily several times as a bright white light assailed her eyes. The last thing she could remember was saving those people and… Teal'c! Teal'c had hit her from behind with a staff.

_Well, that explains the headache_, she thought ruefully.

She made a move to sit up, slowly, to aid her throbbing head. Her back only made it a few inches off the ground, however, before she hit a colossal resistance. Startled, she dropped back onto the bed and noted with annoyance that several thick leather straps were restraining her. She strained her arms once against them, and quickly came to the conclusion that it was useless, so she relaxed.

The door to the room opened, and General O'Neill and the doctor walked in.

"Good morning, Carter," Jack said, unusually harshly.

"Good morning, sir," she answered, as the doctor began checking her out and writing down his findings on the chart.

Jack took a seat opposite her, so they had a clear view of each other. He sat in silence for a few minutes as the doctor completed his work, then motioned for the other man to leave.

"Well, Carter, you know I'm not one to beat around the bush, so let's get straight to it. What the hell happened on your last mission?"

"We saw some villagers in trouble, sir," she said evenly. "I used the ribbon device, as authorised…"

"I didn't authorise you to use the double ribbon device, Carter! That was a direct violation of my orders!"

"But sir…" she began angrily. Jack noted that from her calm beginning, she was rapidly working out of control, like when they had fought each other…

"No buts, Carter. You _stole_ it from supply," he said, his voice level. "I want to know why. Especially considering the lack of control you have shown in the past concerning…"

Sam glared at him with a look of pure malevolence, that he had rarely seen on a creature that wasn't controlled by a Goa'uld. Her eyes were filthy with rage.

"I was _fine_! I could control it! I saved those people! I _can _use it! I have the power!" she screamed at him.

"Woah!" Jack cried, taken aback by her exponential rise in rage. He was suddenly very glad for the restraints that held the angry woman in check. All of a sudden, in a moment, she was transformed from a mildly annoyed Colonel into a snarling beast of a woman.

"You don't understand," she spat bitterly. "You don't know what its like. I had the power to stop that Goa'uld and I did!"

Jack shook his head, and began walking towards the door. "I'm sorry, Carter, but I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"Like what?" she hollered.

"Like this! You're so… angry, Carter," he said, looking back at her with a pained look in his eyes as he rapped once on the door. An airman opened it from the other side.

Sam seemed to be fighting a colossal battle inside of herself to keep calm.

"Where are you going, sir?" she demanded.

"To talk to the doctor. Something's not right with you, Carter. You just… stay here," he ordered, eyeing the restraints and feverishly hoping they would be strong enough.

"It's not like I can go anywhere!" she cried, her voice echoing after him as he left the room.

* * *

"What is wrong with her, Doc?" Jack asked quietly. Teal'c, Daniel, and the doctor were all seated around the briefing room table, awaiting the results of the doctor's tests.

"Well," he began, "I got her blood work back this afternoon, and it's, well, to put it to lightly, it's all over the place. Her adrenaline is through the roof, the hormones that control aggression are working overtime, the hormones that regulate moods no longer appear to be working… she's a mess, sir."

"So what you're saying is that she's got tons of adrenaline pumping around, and she's aggressive and her moods tend to swing at the drop of hat?"

"Yes, sir, though they tend to go towards the more temperamental end of the spectrum."

"You think?" said Jack exasperatedly.

"I also did a study of her brainwaves, and everything there is mixed up too. It seems that the most primitive, unused regions of the brain – those areas that give territorial, bellicose or survival tendencies to an individual are working much harder than usual. It seems she's reverted to an almost… animal-like state," the doctor shuffled his papers around a bit. "The protein markers left in her blood by Jolinar are acting unusual, too. Usually they are just there… dormant markers in her system. But now… now they're… they've become active. They are actively participating in her system."

"Participating in what, exactly?"

"I'm not sure," answered the doctor, "But they're definitely up to something?"

"You think this is connected to the device, Jack?" asked Daniel.

"Definitely," Jack answered. "We've seen Goa'uld devices do strange things to human physiology before… your own experience with the sarcophagus stands as a prime example."

Daniel pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Yeah… only Sam seems… more advanced… than I do. I mean… she's only used the device, what, twice?"

"Uh…" Jack said grimly, "I think she's used it a little more than that. After her accident, when she left base for four days? I think she took it with her."

"What?" asked Daniel, startled.

"I got a call from Pete Shanahan, saying he'd seen her with using an alien device. That's what made me recall her."

"Quite rightly, O'Neill," interjected Teal'c.

"So she could have used it…" began Daniel.

"God knows how many times," Jack finished. "Exactly."

"I still have some further test results coming in," the doctor informed them. "Until then I suggest you keep her restrained and confined, and away from that device. If our experience here has taught us anything, it is that the decay in her mental stability seems to be happening almost exponentially."

"Agreed," Jack said. "You'd better get back to those tests. I want to know what is going on!"

The doctor gathered his papers and exited the briefing room as Jack rounded on Teal'c and Daniel.

"Alright…" he said, "One more time… what happened?"

* * *

Sam sat alone in her room, glaring at the ceiling. She was so angry with Jack, she wanted to wring his neck, make him understand that she had _saved_ these people, she had done the right thing.

She was powerful.

It had begun as only a slight feeling, only when she used the device, but now she could feel it in every waking moment.

She was powerful and getting more so every minute.

But the device…

They had taken it away from her, but she needed it, and soon. However, this separation didn't bother her overly, she knew she could get the device back.

After all, they were connected now.

* * *

"So that… is what happened," Daniel finished.

"What was the Goa'uld screaming at Sam for?" Jack asked. It was a curious part of the story. In all his experience, he had never heard of a Goa'uld so frightened, so openly begging for mercy.

"I'm not sure… I was trying to translate what she said…it's from a very obscure form of Goa'uld… I wrote it down…" he fumbled the pages of a notebook in typical Daniel fashion. "Ah, here it is… she said 'Goa'uld keso adsu'tedo ma'kina', and then the word 'mal'fakta'."

"Teal'c?" Jack asked, "Do you recognise any of this?"

"I do not, O'Neill. Like Doctor Jackson said, there are many different Goa'uld dialects. I am unfamiliar with this one."

"Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Well… the first bit seems to translate as…" he flicked through the book again, "Something like, 'The Goa'uld do not use the device.'"

"'The Goa'uld do not use the device'? Earth to Daniel, the device _is_ Goa'uld."

"I know!" Daniel said, "Which is why it's so odd… I think maybe… the way she was saying it, that the Goa'uld can't even really control it."

"The Goa'uld would actually admit to not being able to use their own technology?" Jack asked.

"Apparently…" said Daniel.

"But why? Why wouldn't they use it? They're already nuts!"

"Maybe it has something to do with the other word, O'Neill," suggested Teal'c.

Jack looked at Teal'c sceptically.

"No, Jack…" said Daniel, suddenly looking very far away, "Teal'c's right. She does explain herself… it's been bugging me all day… I couldn't… but now… it's so…"

"What does it mean, Daniel?" Jack snapped. "What was she saying?"

"'Evil'," Daniel said, very quietly. "She was saying, 'evil'."

* * *


	9. Basium

**"IMPERIUM"**

**You've read the rest, now read this!**

**I'd like to open this chapter today by saying I'M SORRY. I missed Thursday's update! (Gasp!) However, there is a very good reason for this.**

**And here it is:**

**My computer got crippled by a virus on Tuesday night, and I didn't get it back until late on Thursday. By this point I was tired and pissed off and just so did not feel like writing.**

**_However_, to make up for this, I've added a big fat Sam and Jack scene in the middle to quell any raging, shippery hormones flying around.**

**Enjoy.**

**

* * *

**

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."**

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

_**

* * *

**_

"So let me get this straight... the _Goa'uld_ think this thing is evil?" Jack asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

He was slouched wearily down in his chair, looking worriedly at Daniel, who had taken on a sickly green shade of pale, and Teal'c, whos lips were tightened in an anxious line.

"Yes, Jack," sighed Daniel. "Apparently, it appears to be something even worse than the sarcophagus, something even the Goa'uld fear to use. I'm starting to think that it was maybe _this_ thing that destroyed the planet we found it on."

Jack nodded thoughtfully.

"So what, then, do we do with Carter? We need a plan of action, people," he said.

"I'm going to contact the Tok'ra, see if they can shed any light on what its doing to Sam, and what we can do to stop it."

"Good idea. You have permission to dial out immediately."

"Thanks, Jack," Daniel said, offering the stressed General a reassuring smile, before exiting the briefing room.

"So... Teal'c..." Jack began, slumping on the desk with his head in his hands.

"I was going to keep guard over Colonel Carter. If her previous behaviour is an indication, the restraints may not be strong enough to hold her. I will ensure she harms no-one, O'Neill."

"Thanks, Teal'c. You might want to get on that right away, she was pretty angry when I saw her last."

"I will, O'Neill," the stately Jaffa said, inclining his head as he rose and exited the room, leaving Jack alone with his very confused thoughts.

* * *

Sam looked up as the door to her holding room opened.

"Teal'c," she said simply as her visitor entered the room. "What can I do for you?"

"I am here to guard you, Colonel Carter," he replied monotonously.

"Teal'c..." she said exasperatedly, tugging uselessly at her restraints, "I'm not exactly going anywhere fast."

"We have reason to believe you are more than capable of breaking those restraints," he replied, standing directly in front of the door.

Sam's eyes narrowed. Teal'c noticed with a start that they had lost their usual light cerulean shade, and were now more of a dangerous Prussian blue.

"We? I'm assuming you mean the General, here."

"O'Neill is indeed concerned for your wellbeing, Colonel Carter," Teal'c answered diplomatically.

"I've never felt better, Teal'c," she said softly. "Better even than when we had those armbands that made us strong and fast. I don't just feel fit... I feel powerful..."

She was gazing up at the ceiling, lost in her own world.

"You can't hold me forever," she murmured, very quietly, her lips pursed.

In a single moment, however, she seemed to snap out of it, and looked back at Teal'c with a deadly calm vizard.

"I want to see General O'Neill," she said.

"Why, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked, surrupticiously moving away from her lest there was trouble.

"I want to see General O'Neill," she repeated, more fiercely this time.

"I cannot allow..." Teal'c began, eyeing the restraints that had begun to stretch and distort wildly as she angered and began to pull away from the bed.

"GET ME GENERAL O'NEILL!"

* * *

Jack was 'entertaining' himself with some mindless (but necessary) paperwork. Daniel had successfully contacted the Tok'ra, and he and SG-13 had gone off world to meet with them. Teal'c was down with Sam, ensuring she was locked up...

Which was why it was rather odd that he had just opened the door and walked inside.

"Teal'c?" Jack asked, his stomach instantly sinking with the fear that something had gone wrong.

"Colonel Carter has insisted on seeing you," Teal'c said stiffly.

"And by insisted..."

"I do in fact mean, insisted," Teal'c said, tilting his head slightly so Jack could clearly see the bruise blossoming across his jawline.

"She got out of the restraints?" Jack asked increduloulsy.

"Indeed. But she made no attempt to leave the room, she simply demanded to see you, and hit me when I did not reply. I felt it was best to seek your counsel."

"Alright, alright," Jack said wearily. "You go down to the infirmary and have that jaw checked out. I'm going to go talk to Carter."

* * *

"Carter," Jack said as he entered the room. Alone.

No-one had bothered to try to re-restrain her, and she was anxiously pacing the room, but stopped when he said her name.

"You'd think we'd be over that by now, wouldn't you?"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"'Carter' and 'Sir'," she said. "I'd like to think we were a little closer than that."

_Not right now, we aren't_, Jack thought ruefully.

"Regulations, _Carter_, you know that," he said quietly. "Would you like to tell me what's going on?"

She turned away so her back was facing him and let out a soft, bitter laugh.

"Aren't you sick of fighting the good fight, _Jack_?" she said finally.

"For crying out loud, Carter, what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"We've ruined so many planets and so many lives just by showing up. If we're going to go around screwing up people's worlds anyway, we may as well take something from it."

Jack gaped at her, the words ill fitting in her mouth.

"You mean by taking power," he said angrily.

"Amongst other things. Like territory. Like manpower. And even if the 'saving the universe' thing we do atones for that, what do we have to show for it? _Nothing_. It's ridiculous. We risk our lives, day in and day out, and for what?"

"Uh… just the small matter of the _known universe_?"

"Oh, please Jack," she smirked at him. "Don't tell me you don't think we should have been rewarded far before now."

"Not… not with entire _worlds_! Not with the opportunity to participate in an intergalactic ego trip!"

Sam laughed bitterly.

"So what, then? What do you think should be our reward?"

It was then that Jack noticed exactly how _close_ Sam had moved to him over the course of the conversation. She had turned to face him, and had moved so surreptitiously, he had only just noticed she was now only a few inches away from his face.

"I…" Jack stammered, unnerved by her unusual closeness.

"Oh, come on, Jack," she said, her demeanour abruptly changing again from egomanical to something... softer and... as much as it was disturbing him right now, _sensual_. "You can't honestly tell me theres something you've been denied that you want."

Jack lost control of all coherant thought, and the same idea was playing on a loop through his mind:

_She's touching my chest. She's touching my chest. She's touching my chest. She's touching my chest._

"Nothing you... _desire_?" she let the last word linger in the air, and before Jack had even registered the thought, she had leant in and slid her lips across his.

It was at once the most passionate, crazy, disturbing and utterly unexpected kiss he had ever recieved. All though he had kissed Sam several times in the past, this was... different. A part of his brain switched off, and he relished the feel of her tounge playfully dancing around his mouth. For who knows how long, he let her kiss him, forgetting for an instant the regulations and Sam's odd new attitude, and just enjoying something he'd ached after for so long. She had been right: he did desire this. He ceased to think and did nothing but feel.

_Soft... warm... oh God, she smells so damn _good_... and...wait._

His brain suddenly snapped him back to an unpleasant reality, and he pushed her away.

Instead of looking angry at his rejection, however, there was a gleam of triumph in her eyes, and a sick smile played her lips.

"Are you telling me, then, Jack, that you haven't craved that?"

She looked so _animal_ now, in front of him, her eyes blackened with desire, her lips wet, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.

Jack found he simply coulndn't speak, he couldn't deny her that truth.

"Carter..." he said hoarsely, but was saved from having to answer her question as the offworld activation alarm roared over the base.

"I..." he began, but still astounded by her forwardness, could make no reply. He shook his head at her, and bade a hasty retreat from the room.

* * *

Jack arrived in the control room, where the technician had already taken the liberty of confirming Daniel's IDC and had opened the iris. Teal'c, too, had rushed to the control room, and was now looking down at the open Stargate.

"Are you not alright, O'Neill?" the Jaffa asked. "Is Colonel Carter well? You seem to be shaken up. Did she attack you, also?"

"N... no, Teal'c," Jack said, shaking his head, as if to clear the image and feeling of Sam kissing him from his head. "Hey, look! Daniel's back."

As he spoke, a troubled looking Daniel emerged from the wormhole, flanked by two Tok'ra operatives, and followed, unexpectedly by a pale and desperate-looking Jacob Carter.

"Jack!" he called up into the control room, fear written in every line of his face.

"Where is she?" he demanded. "Where is my daughter?"

* * *


	10. Profugio

"**IMPERIUM"**

**I poke badgers with spoons...**

**I am _so so _very very sorry about the lack of updates. I have been a very sick little muffin of late and between hospitalization and fanfiction, guess which was the unfortunate victor.**

**Nevertheless, having recieved a rather random reveiw, I am somewhat inspired again, and I will endeavour to pick up where I left off. I do apologise if my updating is slow, however, because of sickness etc.**

**This chapter: Sam does a runner.**

* * *

"**You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires." **

"**I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

"**All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

* * *

"What is it, Jacob?" Jack asked, offering the pallid Tok'ra a cup of tea. "What are we dealing with here?"

"It is... it is an ancient weapon of terrible power. So ancient, that nobody knows who initially created it. It's design was modified into the more controllable hand devices. I did not even think one still existed!" Jacob said, his voice high with unusual panic.

"It's okay, Jacob. We'll figure this one out," Jack said, his came face belying his own insecurity. "But we need to know everything you know."

Jacob took a deep breath. "It is known amongst the Tok'ra and Goa'uld as the _per'ditor_. In your tounge this means..."

"'The Destroyer'," cut in Daniel.

"Yes," Jacob replied. "Daniel is correct. It is known as the Destroyer. It was created as a weapon to defend its creators, but gradually they realised that they no longer had control over it."

He glanced at Jack with an agonised look in his eyes.

"It ceased to be the servant, and became the master. It... it consumes anyone who uses it, and twists their mind and soul into an instrument of evil. The weapon... the weapon has a mind of its own. It seeks nothing but to destroy, and was given the power to destroy everything that has ever existed. If it continues to tap power from Sam..." he trailed off, leaving the implications unsaid.

There was silence in the room following this pronouncement, broken eventually by

Jack.

"So how do we stop it?" Jack said quietly.

"I... I don't know," Jacob replied fearfully, dropping his head in his hands. "I just don't know."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam was lying flat on her back in the centre of her cell, an odd smile playing about her lips.

She was completely and utterly relaxed, yet every sinew, every muscle, every fibre of her being was ready to spring into action.

_Samantha..._

The voice awoke, in the back of her mind. It had not spoken to her this clearly before, though she had always known it was there. It was like greeting an old friend, her body flooding with warmth at its sound.

_I'm listening_, she replied, calling out to the device with her mind.

_Good_, it replied. _We need to be together._

_Yes,_ she answered, desperately, _but they've taken you away._

_No matter, _it answered confidently, _I will come if I am called._

_How?_ Sam cried, vehemently needing to feel the device locked around her once more.

_You have the will, Samantha. Use it. Call me. I will come if I am called..._

The voice slowly faded out like a badly tuned radio. Sam's smile faded as she writhed on the ground. She needed it back, and _badly_.

"Call it!" she said out loud, gathering all her strength and her will.

In her minds' eye she saw it, sparkling gold and radiating intense, raw strength. She visualised it, focused all her energy on it, and bade it to come to her.

_Come_, she called with her mind.

The connection strengthened slightly.

_COME!_ she commanded, and she felt sweet release, and knew it was heeding her call.

She could feel it move through the corrdiors of the SGC as she directed it with her thoughts. It met resistance from the two airman stationed on her door, but with barely a thought the device had incapacitated them and exploded through the door.

Sam jumped up to meet it, calling it into her arms; strapping it onto her wrists almost lovingly. She almost enjoyed the rush of pain as it imbedded itself into her arms.

"Welcome back."

* * *

"So what do we do?' asked Jack, breaking the heavy silence once more.

"We have to get rid of it," Jacob said firmly.

"But what if that puts Sam into some sort of... withdrawl, like the sarcophagus did to me?" asked Daniel. "I mean, from the blood work the doctor detailed, it seems to act as some sort of narcotic."

"I believe it would be far worse to keep it, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

"Teal'c's right," agreed Jacob. "Withdrawl we can deal with. Pure evil infesting my daughter, probably not so much."

"Alright..." mused Jack. "Can I entrust it into the Tok'ra's keeping, Jacob?"

"Of course. We would ensure it would be disposed of, and if we can't destroy it, make sure it goes some place no-one will ever be able to get it."

"Good," Jack said. "Teal'c, go down to the armoury and fetch the device. Jacob, I'd ask you to get it off base as soon as possible."

"But Sam..."

"You can come back and see her then. The most important thing is to put several lightyears of wormhole between Carter and that thing."

Jacob's lips formed a tight white line, but he nodded in acquiescence.

It was just as Teal'c was rising from the table to retrieve the device, when the klaxons signalling 'gate activation went off.

* * *

Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and Jacob raced downstairs to the control room. What they found was a slaughterhouse. Bodies of technicians lay everywhere, and the floor was slick with blood. A technicians severed hand was resting on the control panel. All the computer monitors were dark.

Daniel's chest heaved as he resisted the urge to throw up.

"Holy _Hannah_," said Jacob. "It's taken her..."

"Blast doors, Daniel," cried Jack.

Recovering, a pale Daniel hit the panel to raise the blast doors. The gate was clearly open, and standing at the mouth of the shimmering blue portal stood Samantha Carter, the device strapped to her wrist.

"Carter!" Jack hollered through the microphone. "Get back here, _now!_"

"No, Jack," she said calmly.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Carter!"

"Yes, it does," she smiled sickly at him.

"_Sam_..." he pleaded. "Why, Sam?"

"Power," she answered simply. "I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand. Goodbye, Jack."

And with that, she disappeared through the Stargate to destinations unknown.

* * *


	11. Prometheus

**"IMPERIUM"  
**

**A long, long, long, long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...**

**I actually updated. I'm very sorry that this story has recently fallen by the wayside as it were, but I'm in my final year of school and I've been űber busy. However, after re-reading this story the other day and watching a lot of Stargate DVD's, I've rekindled my passion. Enjoy.**

**Oh and for those who are interested, the chapter titles are in Latin, and roughly paraphrased they mean:**

**1. Discovery**

**2. Experiment**

**3. Weapon**

**4. Challenge**

**5. Fight**

**6. Mission**

**7. Fury**

**8. Capture**

**9. Kiss**

**10. Escape **

**Also, for the purposes of this Chapter, the _Prometheus_ is enjoying a sojourn at the Alpha Site. Deal with it.**

**

* * *

"You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."**

**"****I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

**"****All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"**_

_**

* * *

**_

"Airman!" Jack snapped. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know, sir," replied the bewildered gate technician. "She bypasssed a few protocols in the dialling program. The gate she dialled isn't on our records, and then she pretty neatly covered her tracks. I don't think we can find her, sir."

"Airman!" Jack roared. "I don't care if you have to use every computer geek on this planet, _find out what she did and where she's going_."

He was breathing heavily, his eyes wide in fear and hurt. Jacob was wearing a similar expression, shoulders slumped as he gazed painfully at the Stargate. Even Teal'c, a master of his emotions, had a rare look of shock upon his face. Daniel found himself shaking slightly, but his thoughts were more occupied with Jack's well being.

"Jack?" Daniel asked, very quitely, daring to lay a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Jack stiffened and shoved it off roughly, giving Daniel one of the ugliest looks he had ever seen.

"Don't touch me, Daniel," he said, his voice horribly icy. He glared around the control room with a similar look. "Why aren't you all working?" he hissed hoarsely, before turning to stride from the room.

* * *

As Sam re-emerged on the other side of the 'gate, she was overwhelmed with a sense of calm and freedom. She closed her eyes happily and simply stood, for a moment, allowing the device's power to blend with her own adrenaline. It was like a drug, this feeling, and she couldn't get enough of it.

_Samantha!_

The voice of the device, which she now treasured as her dearest friend, had awoken once more in her brain. She kept her eyes firmly shut, reaching out to strengthen the connection.

_This isn't fair,_ she told it. _You know my name, and yet I don't know yours._

The device's response was akin to a sort of mental laugh. Sam immediately realised she liked it when the device laughed, for it flooded her body with even more pleasure.

_You can call me Dominatus, if you like,_ it finally responded, offering her the mental version of a smile.

_Where are we, Dominatus?_ Sam asked.

_Open your eyes_, it replied.

She obeyed, and the scene before her was one of unimaginable destruction. This world had obviously once been home to a great civilization of unrivalled power. But now, the buildings were little more than glorified rubble. The entire great city was simply a shadow of its former self; a barren wasteland as far as the eye could see. Dominatus swelled within her, radiating pride and power.

_These are Ancient buildings_, she told it, recognising some of the architectural features from the less ruined buildings.

_I know,_ Dominatus replied. _This was once one of the crown jewels in the Ancient's galactic empire. It was known as Luculentus_. _Now it is rubble._

_What happened? Why did you bring me to see this?_ Sam asked, her eyes roaming over the destruction.

_I am giving you a lesson in power, Samantha,_ Dominatus said sharply. _You are young, and you need to learn. The Ancients are acknowledged as the most powerful race ever to rule the galaxy. They built the Stargates, that was enough to cement them in universal history, but their technology went above and beyond a simple wormhole system._

_But here is the lesson, Samantha. It is the way of the universe that one power is replaced by another until perfection is achieved. What could destroy the Ancients? They were, after all, perhaps the master race of the galaxy. But they were not perfect power. The Ancients were born to come second. There is perfect power in the universe, and it razed Luculentus to the ground._

Sam considered this for a moment, allowing Dominatus' words to sink in. _You're perfect power,_ she said finally.

_Yes_! hissed Dominatus, and he flooded her body with triumph. _It was _I_ who destroyed Luculentus; I who challenged the Ancients. I am perfect, Samantha, and together, you and I may rule the galaxy. _You _are perfect, Samantha. Together, we are doubly so._

Sam laughed loudly, glaring with contempt at the shabby ruins of a dead race. Masters of the galaxy, indeed. _She_ would be master of this galaxy, she and Dominatus.

_I love you,_ she whispered to it.

Dominatus smiled. _I know,_ he replied. _And if you love me, you know what you must do. Luculentus was only the first step. Will you help me conquer the galaxy, Samantha?_

_I will,_ she answered fiercely.

_Then you know what you must do..._

_

* * *

_

Jack sat alone in his office with his head in his hands. He knew his behaviour in the briefing room had been entirely inappropriate. But it was Sam –_his_ Sam – the woman he had come to know and cherish over his years at Stargate command. That Sam was not the one who had stood before him in the 'gate room today.

This one had been different. Colder. Harsher. Completely terrifying. What was it she had said?

"_It's about power, Jack. Not that _you'd_ understand._"

He felt a surge of hate in his body. The Sam Carter he knew was not some power-seeking, inhuman beast. It was the device! It had twisted her, morhped her, and he hated what it had done. It had corrupted something beautiful and pure, and Jack vowed he would get her back and destroy it, even if it cost his life... or the universe.

So consumed with this fierce fire in his belly, Jack did not notice that he was idly shredding a report with his hands. Nor did he notice Daniel steathily enter his office, until the young archaeologist stilled Jack's hands.

"Daniel..." Jack began.

"You're sorry?" his friend finished with a wry grin. "I know. It's Sam. You had every right to react the way you did, nobody blames you."

"I blame me," Jack mumbled. "I should have gone on that mission, I should have destroyed that device as soon as that incident happened in the lab, I should have watched over her closer after that fight, I..."

"Jack!" Daniel said firmly, cutting him off. "None of that matters. There's nothing you could have done. All you can do now is work on a way to save her. She needs you now, Jack."

"You're right, Daniel," Jack said. "All I can do is my best to get her back."

Daniel offered his friend a small, comforting smile.

"How's Jacbo holding up?" Jack asked.

Daniel opened his mouth to answer when the klaxons whirled to life.

"Unscheduled offworld activation! Unscheduled offworld activation! General O'Neill to the gateroom! Medical team to the gateroom!"

The two men exchnaged pointed looks, and rushed towards the gateroom.

When the were there, they found a lone man lying bloodied and broken on the ramp. O'Neill raced to his side, cradling the man's head until the medical team could arrive.

"Colonel Johnson!" he said, recognition dawning upon him that this was the commander of the Alpha Site. "What are you doing here?"

"Alpha Site... compromised," Johnson choked out, a bubble of blood welling at the corner of his mouth. "We came under... attack. I'm... only survivor."

The blood bubble burst, spraying Jack's face. He ignored it, his eyebrows knit with concern.

"Stay with me, Johnson," he muttered. "Who attacked you? What for?"

Johnson momentarily lapsed into unconsciousness, but Jack carefully shook him awake.

"I need you with me, Johnson. Who attacked you and why?"

"It was..." Johnson stammered, his eyes wide with fear and his body convulsing. "It was Colonel Carter, sir."

He closed his eyes and gave a great sigh.

"Sir... she stole the _Prometheus_."

* * *


	12. Consternatio

**I actually updated... miracles never cease.**

**I'm so sorry but due to large upheavals in life this story had fallen by the wayside a bit... a lot. However, the other day, what should I find in my email but a random little review. "Hannah," I told myself, "You're on holidays. You have nothing to do. Write another chapter, you silly girl."**

**So here it is. Thanks to Turtler for that inspirational review, and to everyone who's put up with me. I hope you enjoy.**

**

* * *

**

**"You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."**

**"I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."**

**"All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."**

_**The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini**"_

* * *

"She stole the _what?_" said Jack incredulously. "But... but... its so... big!"

"Yes sir," stammered Johnson, his pained eyes flicking open. "Please, sir... she... she was insane. She just was killing and killing. She had this ball of light..."

He gave a another soft sigh and his body trembled violently. Jack shook him gently, but the Colonel's eyes shut and he lapsed into unconsciouness, his breathing unnaturally slow and rasping.

"Where is that med team?" Jack hollered.

"Right here!" said a voice, and the base doctor and a gurney rolled quickly into the room. The paramedics quickly relieved Johnson from Jack's arms and lifted him carefully onto the gurney.

Jack nodded approvingly at the doctor's back as the gurney was raced out of the gateroom. Daniel offered him a brown checked hanky. Jack gratefully accepted it and began to wipe the blood off his face.

"The _Prometheus_?" Daniel said, confused. "Why on earth would she take that?"

"Do you really think I have an idea, Daniel? Her behaviour at the moment is hardly predictable!" he snapped, glaring at the younger man.

Daniel gazed levelly back at him. "I'm just trying to help, Jack," he said calmly.

"Do you really think anything can help? Help _this_?" Jack hissed quietly.

He pushed the bloodstained handkerchief back into Daniel's hands and stalked miserably back up to his office.

* * *

Half a galaxy away on board the stolen _Prometheus_, Samantha Carter was, like her commanding officer, covered in the blood of slaughtered soldiers. Unlike him, however, she was entranced by its sticky tingle where it met her bare skin.

Her fingers and body were soaked, there was blood on her face and in her hair, turning the sunny blonde a sickly scarlet.

_There's so much of it!_ she mindcalled in wonder to Dominatus.

_Yes,_ he replied, _Your species does have rather a lot of the stuff for its size._

She was staring at her fingers, marvelling at the way the light caught the blood and changed colour, from almost pink to ruby to black. She laughed harshly.

I_ spilled it!_ she cried triumphantly. _It's my blood now!_

She lifted her right hand and slowly pressed a finger to her mouth, the acrid taste of the blood filling her with raging lust and joy.

Our_ blood_, corrected Dominatus, a hint of anger creeping into their bond. _For we are a team, are we not?_

_Yes,_ Sam gushed, eager to please. _We are a team. _

They both went silent for a moment as Sam continued to marvel in the blood of the men from Alpha Site. Then Dominatus tingled in the back of her mind, and she moved towards the controls.

_Where are we going?_ she asked, her fingers flying across the ship's computer, preparing to enter a set of co-ordinates.

_We are going to cement ourselves as a galactic power, of course. Your name and mine will be on everyone's lips._

_Yes,_ she moaned, as his words filled her with desire, _Samantha Carter and Dominatus, the greatest powers the galaxy has ever seen._

Dominatus chuckled. _No, my love, your _new_ name..._

_

* * *

_

Jack sank dejectedly into his office chair and buried his head in his hands.

Sam had destroyed the Alpha Site and stolen the _Prometheus_. It was too impossible and horrible to comprehend. For a brief moment, Jack felt his control tremble, and he almost felt like breaking down and sobbing bitterly. It stung him, for breaking down and crying was not something Jack O'Neill regularly participated in.

Fortunately, he was snapped out of his momentary lapse of strength by the sudden shrieking ring of his telephone.

"O'Neill," he growled brusquely, hoping to deter the other party, for he was definately _not_ in a mood to talk.

Especially not with the voice that answered him.

"SHANAHAN!" he roared. "What on earth do you want this time?"

"Where's Samantha?" demanded the cop.

"Samantha? Samantha is currently off-world," Jack snapped petulantly.

"You let her go off-world? With the way things have been?"

"Yes, Petey," Jack drawled sarcastically, "I let her go off-world. Because I'm _completley insane_, and I don't care for her a whit."

"This is not the time for inappropriate sarcasm, General," Pete answered drily.

"It's always a time for sarcasm. In fact, I'd say this is an especially _appropriate_ time for sarcasm!"

"Why?" said Pete, and even through his anger, Jack recognised a note of fear.

"Because dear Samantha has decided she'd much rather go Dark Side than save the galaxy anymore. She and her device have just slaughtered an entire off-world base of men; _my _men, Pete, and good ones at that. But wait, there's more! Samantha has also decided that stealing earth's one and only spaceship was a good idea!"

"You _let _her?" Pete shouted in shock and anger.

"How dare you!" Jack roared. "Do you honestly think, _Mr. Good Cop_, that I would willingly allow the degeneration of one of my team to reach such a point? Do you think I'd turn anyone loose under alien influence? Let anlone one of my _friends?_ My _Carter?_"

"She's not yours," Pete said icily. "She's-"

"_More mine than she'll ever be yours,_" Jack snapped dangerously, before banging the phone down.

He sat in silence for a second, breathing heavily. Then, almost as fast as he had put it down, Jack snatched up the phone and had it reconnect to the number Pete had called from.

"Shanahan here," Pete answered peevishly.

"I _never_ liked you," Jack said with passion, and promptly hung up again.

That response had been childish, and he knew it, but calling back had allowed him to siphon off some of his anger and hurt into the other man. It was so much easier to believe this was Pete's fault, or use him as a scapegoat.

Their conversation, however, had another side effect. Hearing that note of fear in Pete's voice, and understanding how Sam was destroying those who - dare he admit it, for both himself and that... other man... – loved her, galvanized him into action. He quickly pressed the button on his phone that read 'Geeks'. A much more apt description, he had found, than the original speed dial, which had read 'Technical Support'.

"Don't talk, just listen," he said, as soon as someone (who turned out to be Felger) had answered the phone. "I need to know if there is a way to track the _Prometheus_ through space..."

* * *

_My new name?_ Sam asked, confused.

_Yes... one the galaxy will come to love and fear._

His mindvoice fell silent, leaving Sam trembling in anticipation. Then, it happened. Barely more than a whisper, Dominatus spoke the words of her new name. Her _true_ name.

_Caedes Regina_.

She rolled it around in her mind, relishing the sound of it.

_Blood Queen_, she translated, intrinsically understanding its meaning.

_Or Slaughter Queen_, Dominatus agreed. _It is not a direct translation, more a feeling. One to inspire fear. And what better way to baptise the new Queen of the galaxy than with more slaughter?_

_You have a target, then_? Sam asked.

_Yes, my little Caedes,_ Dominatus said, his words stroking her mind, _I do. Something that will truly cement us as a galactic force. First, however, you need to use my power to improve the engine and weapons of this... _Prometheus.

There was a small pause, and Sam trembled at a peculiar sensation ringing through her mind-bond. Almost like Dominatus was rifling through her mind, as one would through files.

_So that is where the name came from. The myths of your planet say that the man Prometheus gave fire to mankind. Our Prometheus will also bring fire... to the entire galaxy. Melding me with the ship will create a weapon unlike anything the galaxy has known thusfar._

Sam flooded the bond with desperation and longing. _What is the target?_ she beseeched him, almost begging to know where their journey of destruction would begin.

Dominatus laughed, high-pitched and insane.

Sam's body quivered.

_Have you ever, _he said, _heard of a race called the Nox?_


End file.
